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3232Shop Talk | The Mustard Seedhttp://ninaperez.com/shop-talk-the-mustard-seed/
http://ninaperez.com/shop-talk-the-mustard-seed/#commentsThu, 14 Feb 2019 14:00:35 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=916Barbara Wiggins, owner of the Mustard Seed (opened 1982) in Napa, California (1227 First St.), has been in business for 46 years. Having had four stores in as many cities during this time, it’s stating the obvious to say that she loves retail – her love for retail has its roots in her childhood when she preferred to play with a cash register over dolls. It was a treat to speak with Barbara about the retail industry because she carries the same fun-loving spirit from her childhood to her work today. And with the breadth of her experience and willingness […]

Barbara Wiggins, owner of the Mustard Seed (opened 1982) in Napa, California (1227 First St.), has been in business for 46 years. Having had four stores in as many cities during this time, it’s stating the obvious to say that she loves retail – her love for retail has its roots in her childhood when she preferred to play with a cash register over dolls. It was a treat to speak with Barbara about the retail industry because she carries the same fun-loving spirit from her childhood to her work today. And with the breadth of her experience and willingness to share, I thought we might all learn a thing or two from her.

It’s easy to look at a store as successful as the Mustard Seed – with it’s 29% increase in growth in 2018 over 2017 and loyal customer base – and assume that life in fashion retail is a snap. Barbara would be the first to tell you that even with a flair for fashion and a head for business,

“Don’t expect to jump in and make money right away.”

This world is hard and you have to be proactive in getting your customers through the door. You also need patience, flexibility, and the secret ingredient of all secret ingredients: love. Love for her family (which she always places first), love for her store (which she considers part of her family), and love for her community. It’s this focus on community that I thought I’d focus on for this article.

“I’m really keen on supporting my community that supports me.”

This is a bit of an understatement, though. In the beginning, she reached out to every group she could reach out to.

“…Law wives, medical wives. I would go to their meetings and show them how to tie scarves and do informal fashion shows for them.”

In fact, she has put on endless fashion shows, issued numerous gift certificates for raffles, and given to charitable events each time she was asked. It turns out that the ROI on sincere altruism is pretty high!

She quickly figured out that giving someone a reason to come in the store always paid off – whether they were coming in to redeem a gift certificate or relive the fun she created at a fashion show or even to return an item. In fact, she accepts all returns because the customers usually walk out with more than they returned. Barbara firmly believes that

“Anybody who has a small store that thinks that they can’t afford to donate and get involved with the community is missing out on a lot because that’s how you create loyalty within the community.”

It’s her version of living the advice she gives to new retailers to “Go get ‘em [customers]”. Don’t wait for people to walk into your store. Go where your ideal customers are and engage with them to build relationships. It does help that Barbara grew up in the Napa area and knows her demographic. But then again, any marketer will tell you to “know your market/customer”. It’s just that Barbara does it so well. She takes the time to make people comfortable – from her non-sales-y style of promotion to her husband couches in the store to letting locals take items home “on approval”. I don’t know of many stores that can create such a close relationship with its customers that they come from far away as part of an annual family trip to spend several thousand dollars for fun and fashion! That’s devotion! Barbara then makes it an extra special event by “reserving” a dressing room with a pretty sign with their names on it and a bottle of champagne, chilled and at the ready.

It’s important to note that all this success isn’t luck. The Mustard Seed opened in the midst of the 1980s recession. Business was tough, but with her creativity and gusto, Barbara’s business grew. She also doesn’t shy away from social media. That’s where the importance of flexibility comes in. Barbara was quick to realize how important websites (www.mustardseedclothing.com) and social media (visit @napamustardseed on Facebook and Instagram) are and she does her best to inject the platforms with her fun personality – putting her best customers in the photos, wearing her clothes, and having fun.

That, my friends, is one of the most (if not THE most) important ways to differentiate the brick and mortar experience from the online one. Barbara knows her customers in ways that large online retailers can’t hope to know. She knows that her target market is older and loves the experience of finding something unique in her store and having the satisfaction of taking it home that day. She knows that her customers don’t want to shop in stores that only offer clothes up to size 6. She knows that her customers happen to be at a point in their lives where they can spend their money on themselves and enjoy doing so. She knows because she has invested time and effort into her customers and community. Her “go get ‘em” business philosophy manifests itself not only in regards to customer acquisition, but also in developing relationships with her customers. This is where social media and email came into play – even when she was brand spankin’ new to it.

“I remember going to LA Market with my little laptop and emailing all 20 of my people [sic] who had computers: ‘Look what I saw at market! I’m having a great time’ and making that connection with my customer so that she’s on that buying trip with me.”

She also never hesitated to ask people directly about what they wanted instead of guessing at it.

“When I knew I was going to market, I would ask them: ‘Do you have any favorite lines? What do I not have here that you need me to look at?’ I would write it all down and when I got home, I would make sure that I answered them whether I got it or not. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t find that at this market, but I’ll keep an eye out.’ Or I would tell them: ‘I got that on order. Thank you so very much.’ It made them feel a part of the whole process.”

Not that she’s all business in her communication!

“My emails. I try to keep them as least professional as I can and I’ll tell you why. If you don’t do something weird in there somewhere, they won’t open them anymore. So I try to make jokes. I want people laughing at them.”

These days, social media responsibilities are being transitioned to her granddaughter, Hailey, and even this transition was as thoughtful as her approach in customer growth. Many people think that social media is the realm of the young, but time and again, articles appear (like this Entrepreneur piece) to explain why social media should not be left to a random intern or young employee just because they’re young. Hailey comes to Mustard Seed with a business degree, experience working at Nordstrom, and, as Barbara says, “more experience than I ever had.” She also grew up in Napa so customers know her. Although she’s only been there a little less than a year, Hailey already understands the difference between having a boutique and a chain store and the mantra that will forever keep boutiques in favor: You have to give your customers an experience when they walk through the door. It seems Barbara has taught her granddaughter well because customers have sent Hailey thank you notes saying how much fun they had in the store and how it was the highlight of their trip.

Remember those husband couches and the “on approval” system I mentioned earlier? That wasn’t even the half of the experience she creates. If it’s someone’s birthday, she has a bracelet ready to give as a gift and the staff sings for them. She hand delivers birthday gift certificates or Christmas gift cards to locals. She leaves customers to wander around the store without following them. This all builds trust with the store and everything that she invests in time, product, or effort comes back in spades. Not only does business continue to grow, but she gets more out of it than with paid advertising. In 2015, Barbara’s community involvement was recognized by the city of Napa with the Citizen of the Year award. She admitted this very humbly, but it goes to show how sincere she is in her belief that having a local business means you should participation in the community.

“It’s my job. I’m not just here to sell stuff.”

And to think – this all started one youthful drunken night with a girlfriend! That’s a funny story for another time though. What did you think of these stories here and the advice Barbara shared? Comment below and let us know!

]]>http://ninaperez.com/shop-talk-the-mustard-seed/feed/2Do More Video on Social. Here’s Why.http://ninaperez.com/do-more-video/
http://ninaperez.com/do-more-video/#respondWed, 23 Jan 2019 14:00:13 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=893By now, you’re probably in full personal-improvement mode with whatever resolutions you’ve made to do better and be better. Perhaps you’ve set some goals and picked a word to define your year. It’s all great momentum going into a new and fresh year. There is one word that will drive online marketing in 2019 and where you might want to think about putting some energy and effort: Video. On all platforms. Facebook, for example, is prioritizing Live and Watch. Watch launched globally last year and according to Facebook newsroom, already has 400 million monthly viewers and 75 million daily viewers. […]

By now, you’re probably in full personal-improvement mode with whatever resolutions you’ve made to do better and be better. Perhaps you’ve set some goals and picked a word to define your year. It’s all great momentum going into a new and fresh year. There is one word that will drive online marketing in 2019 and where you might want to think about putting some energy and effort: Video. On all platforms. Facebook, for example, is prioritizing Live and Watch. Watch launched globally last year and according to Facebook newsroom, already has 400 million monthly viewers and 75 million daily viewers. Instagram Stories has 500 million daily users and it’s growing faster than the feed.

What does this mean for you, the small business owner? Whichever social media platform is working for you right now is where you’ll be publishing more video. The good news is you don’t need a ton of fancy equipment to create fun and engaging videos. At the very least, you need lots of natural light, a high quality camera on your mobile device, and a smile.

But don’t post just to post. You want to add value to your customer’s life so she’ll come back for more. Think about what problems you can solve for your customer or what delights your her. If you’re a clothing store, maybe you’ll give her styling tips, or show her how to wear something 3 ways, or what the hot items of the season are, or what 5 pieces every woman should own and how to wear them.

With so much content out there people have very short attention spans. The Instagram Feed gives you one minute, but research shows that 26-second videos get the most views and comments. Instagram Stories are unlimited 15-second clips. What story could you tell in a few clips? On Facebook, you can post 30-minute videos but it’s not advisable. The ideal length for a Facebook video to get the most likes, comments, are shares is 1 (one) minute. Now research is a smart place to start, however, the #1 thing to keep in mind is your content must be valuable and engaging. If it’s not, people won’t watch it no matter what the length. Check your insights to see the engagement on your videos. Adjust where you need to and keep going.

Set a goal for yourself to post a video – whether pre-recorded or live – once per week. Whichever way you go, take these 3 steps to ensure a great experience for your viewer:

give yourself time to rehearse so you’re at least comfortable with what you’re going to say

pick a spot with lots of natural light and stand facing the light

Test the sound quality! It’s the #1 irritant to viewers. Be sure you speak up and speak clearly.

]]>http://ninaperez.com/do-more-video/feed/0Shop Talk | Blue Moon Boutiquehttp://ninaperez.com/shop-talk-blue-moon-boutique/
http://ninaperez.com/shop-talk-blue-moon-boutique/#respondThu, 10 Jan 2019 00:47:50 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=834Patti Blake isn’t fearless. She has a hefty email list, a strong social media presence, and a profitable mission-driven business, but she isn’t fearless. She’s courageous. “Courage and fear are not mutually exclusive,” said New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown, “Most of us feel brave and afraid at the exact same time.” Back in 2012, Patti found herself as an empty nester with the desire to create something new – specifically, a boutique. She was inspired by a beautiful store she visited, which not only had gorgeous merchandise, but also gave away 10% of their revenue to international charities. […]

]]>Patti Blake isn’t fearless. She has a hefty email list, a strong social media presence, and a profitable mission-driven business, but she isn’t fearless. She’s courageous. “Courage and fear are not mutually exclusive,” said New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown, “Most of us feel brave and afraid at the exact same time.”

Back in 2012, Patti found herself as an empty nester with the desire to create something new – specifically, a boutique. She was inspired by a beautiful store she visited, which not only had gorgeous merchandise, but also gave away 10% of their revenue to international charities. The store was not open to franchising at the time so Patti decided to open her own shop-with-a-purpose store: Blue Moon Boutique, a clothing, accessories, gift and children’s store that gives away 10% of its revenue to local charities. She jumped head first into a new career (with no prior retail experience), and all the new things that go along with it: lifestyle, buying, promoting, and social media. What makes Patti successful is her resoluteness in acting despite any reservations or fears she had.

Blue Moon opened in what some might say was a tough economy (go girl!) and there were a lot of naysayers about, which tends to happen when someone steps out of their comfort zone. But with a healthy dose of realism and a belief in her vision, Patti forged ahead, anyway.

“I did have fear, but I knew I had to try it,” she said. “I was definitely going to fail if I didn’t try it.”

And that, my friends, is the only kind of failure there is. Patti listened to her gut in deciding on her new career… but not before getting a big lecture from her financial planner and being completely scared by it! She was given an invaluable piece of practical advice: she was told to think of a monetary number that reflected what she’d be willing to lose if it didn’t work out. Although the store obviously worked out, following this advice helped her keep her expenses down at the beginning and even today. So perhaps it helps to think of fear as something healthy because it can prompt you to get organized and plan ahead.

Not all our business decisions are as big as Patti’s, but big or small, new or established, sometimes you just need to make up your mind, trust your gut, and go for it. Maybe it’s an initiative to widen your demographic. Maybe it’s redecorating your store. Maybe it’s diving into social media.

Patti admitted,

“I’m a very private person. I don’t like my stuff out there and so I wasn’t on Facebook… I didn’t know the first thing about it.”

She also didn’t know how to build a website, but she moved forward anyway because she knew how important these modern marketing tools are in this economy. At that time, Patti often thought “Oh no, how am I going to handle all this,” but the next thing she knew, somebody would show up who knew what to do. Some people might say that Patti was just lucky in crossing paths with people who could help her, but there’s something to be said about having faith in your decisions that lead you to things you need in order to follow through. She was also vocal about her vision and needs. If people don’t know what you need or what you’re trying to achieve, they can’t step up to help you.

Today, Patti has a marketing assistant that updates her website, creates graphics, writes the philanthropy posts for Facebook, and creates and send emails to a list that’s 2,000 strong. She’s been very careful about emailing them only when she has actual news, (e.g. a sale or event) and as such, enjoys a very high open rate.

Welcome those serendipitous moments and take advantage of help that is readily available to you whether it be a social media helper, your staff’s input on trends, promotional ideas, local news and events or, as in Patti’s case, a web developer. Also have faith in yourself, as Patti did when she learned how to use social media for business. After some trial and error, she now has a very active community on Instagram.

“Every day, customers tell us that they saw our posts on instagram or FB. We can sell out of an item in one day from a post. Customers will comment to put items on hold until they can come in later or will show us a picture from a previous post asking if it’s still in stock.”

It’s been profitable to spend time creating gorgeous photos that her customer can’t resist. “It’s one of the main drivers of our business.” Blue Moon is located in a very small shopping center in the middle of three neighborhoods. You have to know about it to find it. Patti is clear about the power of her social media as a business tool. “I get nervous if I haven’t posted in a couple of days.” Check her out here!

But here’s something to note: even though she found higher engagement on Instagram, people typically say that they saw her products on Facebook too, so she continues on with it. This is important because you don’t know who’s watching your social media posts or for how long they followed them before they came in to buy, so it’s important to be consistent and patient with social media. Patti tells me it took a while to build the organic following she enjoys today. Diving into virtual marketing and building a strong following doesn’t happen overnight. Nor does it mean that you have to forgo all other types of traditional marketing. In fact, Patti gives interviews for her local press and she speaks at organizations aligning with her mission, such as the National Charity League and various churches. Getting out into her community has helped her to build community.

Patti’s commitment to community is reflected in her social media handle “BlueMoonCares” (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest). It may have been born out of necessity because “BlueMoonBoutique” was taken, but the experience that led her to create a mission-driven business, was more integral.

“Because I’d been volunteering in our community in the 10 years before I opened, I saw some needs in our community,” she said, “…they go unnoticed a lot because we’re a fairly affluent community… upper to middle class… so you just assume that everyone has what they need, but they don’t. I saw that and so my mission was to donate locally to local causes.”

As far as Patti knew, there were no businesses in her area had a charity arm, and in creating one, she filled a hole with something she was passionate about and it paid off in more than just “the feels”. Patti delivers her donations personally and often times, the charity has no idea what’s coming. The altruism has been so surprising to some that they can’t help but talk about it, which leads to more foot traffic in her store and even further collaborations such as “sip and shop” events with some of these organizations. In addition, Blue Moon carries products that also have a mission, so shoppers get the opportunity to contribute to two places at once. The amount she gives away seems to come right back with shoppers who are loyal and as we all know, retention is a big deal in business. Other companies even outside our industry would love to have the type of retention that Patti has. In fact, her customers are so loyal to her that they often go to her before they hit the mall. And I can tell you from personal experience, it’s hard to leave her store empty handed!

I have to note that promoting yourself as a purpose-driven company is one thing, but being transparent about your activity puts your retention on a completely different level. It’s how you build trust. Patti keeps a sign in her store indicating how much she has donated to charity to date. It’s a simple act, but when nearly 7 in 10 Millennials (along with 40% of younger Boomers and 33% of older Boomers) actively consider company values when making a purchase [Forbes.com 5/23/2018], you can bet that transparency is important.

Of course, you can only know about your retention rate if you keep track of it. Another reason for Patti’s stellar customer retention is something technology based. She implemented Fivestars loyalty rewards program and it’s helped her track loyalty and unobtrusively keep in touch with her customers, build stronger relationships, and increase foot traffic.

“Between Instagram and 5 Stars, we’re up for the year (2018).”

Wherever you are in your business timeline, you have the same tools available to you for your success as Patti does. Patti’s advice – particularly to newbies:

“Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do this. Be realistic about what it’s gonna take, but don’t let anyone tell you you can’t. Remember, it’s easy to criticize.”

Feel inspired by Patti’s story? Learn something new? Tell us about it in the comments below and help us build a community by sharing this with a friend or on social media . Happy new year!

]]>http://ninaperez.com/shop-talk-blue-moon-boutique/feed/0My Top 2018 Reads to Empower You in 2019http://ninaperez.com/my-top-2018-reads-to-empower-you-in-2019/
http://ninaperez.com/my-top-2018-reads-to-empower-you-in-2019/#commentsTue, 04 Dec 2018 13:55:25 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=754As we round the end of the year it’s natural to look back and assess the highs and lows, what worked and what didn’t, AND what helped us get through it and grow as a business owner and more importantly as a person. I’m excited to share my top 5 books of 2018. I’m a multi media reader, meaning I read actual paper books, digital books, and I listen to audio books. As many of you know I spend quite a bit of time in my car seeing clients all over the west coast and I know many of you […]

]]>As we round the end of the year it’s natural to look back and assess the highs and lows, what worked and what didn’t, AND what helped us get through it and grow as a business owner and more importantly as a person. I’m excited to share my top 5 books of 2018.

I’m a multi media reader, meaning I read actual paper books, digital books, and I listen to audio books. As many of you know I spend quite a bit of time in my car seeing clients all over the west coast and I know many of you have long commutes. A couple of years ago, I became an Audible memberand it has become a lifesaver. Being able to use my precious travel time to learn more has been rewarding. I’ve learned about what makes us tick, creating habits that lead to success professionally and personally, and how 5 seconds can change the trajectory of my day and impact the rest of my life. I already know that I’ll be returning to these in the years to come as you can probably tell from the post it notes in the picture!

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles – Steven Pressfield

Although Steven refers to the artist as writer in this book, I found that it’s also applicable to entrepreneurs. We all have barriers, or blocks, keeping us from reaching success. In this short and straight-forward book, I walked away feeling better about myself and ready to tackle the day and the “war.” I think you will, too. (www.bit.ly/NPWarofArt)

High Performance Habits – Brendon Burchard

The pinnacle book from the the leading high performance coach! Brendon shares the 6 proven HPH that anyone can cultivate to achieve long term success and vibrant well-being. They’re based on loads of research, but Brendon delivers his message in an engaging and practical form. Let me just say, so many post it notes…so many phrases underlined!! You can listen to the audiobook on his podcast the The Brendon Show from April 6-9, 2018. (www.bit.ly/NPHPH)

The 5 Second Rule – Mel Robbins

Yes, seriously, 5 seconds. And not the food one. You can retrain your brain in literally 5 seconds. After Mel stumbled on this truth, she set out to figure out why it works. My biggest “Aha!” was the research on procrastination. I’ve always felt super guilty about it, but I learned that procrastination is a form of dealing with stress. (www.bit.ly/NP5SecondRule)

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – Daniel Pink

Go ahead and eat that carrot and use the stick for kindling because the whole carrot and stick philosophy is so yesterday! That worked in the industrial age, but in today’s economy, what motivates people is so different. And yes, you’ll be surprised (www.bit.ly/NPDrive)

Dare to Lead – Brene Brown

Can I just say I have a serious girl crush on Brene? I’ve read (and listened to) probably all of her books and, full disclosure, I’m still in the midst of listening to this one and love it so far. Her research on shame and vulnerability has fueled a slew of books on courage and bravery — as Brene says, you can’t have one without the other. Our biggest moments of courage are also huge moments of vulnerability and fear. And being a brave and daring leader requires great courage and… well… vulnerability. God I love her! (www.bit.ly/NPDaretoLead)

Put these on your holiday list or gift them to yourself. And please come back to this blog post and tell me your biggest takeaways!

]]>http://ninaperez.com/my-top-2018-reads-to-empower-you-in-2019/feed/1Entrepreneurial Burnout. It happens!http://ninaperez.com/entrepreneurial-burnout-it-happens/
http://ninaperez.com/entrepreneurial-burnout-it-happens/#respondTue, 23 Oct 2018 13:00:43 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=703I remember when I started my own business. I couldn’t believe the time had finally arrived! Was I scared? Heck yes! But my desire for my own gig was greater than my fear. To be fair, my boss back then gave me the final nudge. He knew it was the right time and told me so. And in that moment, I was on my own. Deer, meet headlights. I ventured into the unknown of business ownership armed with just my rolling rack and five garment bags. It was seven months until my first check and two years before I really […]

]]>I remember when I started my own business. I couldn’t believe the time had finally arrived! Was I scared? Heck yes! But my desire for my own gig was greater than my fear. To be fair, my boss back then gave me the final nudge. He knew it was the right time and told me so. And in that moment, I was on my own.

Deer, meet headlights.

I ventured into the unknown of business ownership armed with just my rolling rack and five garment bags. It was seven months until my first check and two years before I really hit my stride. It was so exciting! I literally ate and breathed my work and loved every minute of it. Even figuring out how to overcome the many obstacles that presented themselves were fun challenges.

That was 20 years ago. There have been many highs, some lows, and life got in the way at times, as it tends to do, but my business is my longest relationship to date! While I love having my own gig, I did have some bouts of boredom and monotony, and the travel that was once exciting, at times became tedious. It’s all normal! What’s also normal is that the crazy pace of self employment is not sustainable forever (as I write this at 9pm in my home office after spending 10 minutes with my partner. Yes, I see the irony).

How do we keep the fire alive in our businesses over the long haul? Hell how about the short haul? Inspiration. A seriously overused word, but oh so appropriate. Here’s how you know you’ve hit it. That moment when you smile to the sky, close your eyes, breathe deep and your heart feels full. Like you can’t believe this moment is yours. Here’s some ways to get back to that feeling.

Take time away. Leave your baby? Yes! This may sound antithetical but stepping away from your business or project will free your mind. It could be as little as 30 minutes of uninterrupted you-time or actually getting on a plane to an exotic getaway. Either way, the time away from your business unhinges your mind from the grind, so to speak, and frees it to receive other things. Things that move and inspire you. Some ideas for quick mental getaways are: Spend time on a hobby you probably haven’t touched since you started your business, start reading that book that’s collecting dust on your nightstand, take the exercise class your friend has been bugging you to try, or book a room for one or two nights close to home but “away.” Then don’t be surprised when, as a result, new ideas and solutions start popping into your head.

Feed your talent. I love this one. No matter where you are in your journey, always continue learning and staying on top of what you’re already good at. In other words, feed your passion with your passion. Participate in webinars, workshops, or online courses regularly. Start a blog or newsletter to share your passion. Talking or writing about your passion is a great way to keep it alive. I recently started a blog (the one you’re reading, actually) to share the stories of my retailers and to offer the bits of wisdom I’ve picked up along the way.

Take a Social break. Social media plays an important role in marketing our businesses, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about the black hole of scrolling through feeds and stories where time slides by faster than you realize. Not only can it be a waste of your precious time but also a thief of joy. The comparison game is a passion killer. Do what you have to do for business then get off and take a walk or get on with the important tasks of the day.

Delegate. When you started your business, you likely ran the show yourself and wore a lot of, if not all the, hats. But as you know, when your biz grows, you have to add people so you can fuel the growth. Delegating empowers those that work with you and makes them feel important. They feel like a part of the business’s success and are motivated to solve its problems. As you determine which parts of the job to delegate, remember to keep tasks for yourself that fuel YOU. They’re probably the reason you started this biz in the first place.

Regularly brainstorm with your staff about new products or services you could offer or revamp your current offering. Sometimes we hang on to products or services that no longer serve our business or customer. Your staff is on the front lines with you dealing directly with customers on a regular basis. They are a treasure trove of valuable information. While you’re at it, make the brainstorming sessions “no judgement” zones and record all ideas. You never know when an idea that initially seemed crazy might turn into an idea that saves the day. It’s also nice to save big ideas as goals for the future. Maybe you aren’t capable of activating some of them, but after some time, you may be able to. In which case, it’s nice to use an idea as a goal.

Read. Books, online articles, follow people you admire. Success is built on failure…many failures. I don’t know who said that, but boy is it true. Find people who are successful that have encountered some of the challenges you have and learn what they did to overcome them. Keep in mind that you can learn from businesses that lie outside your industry. You’ll find their stories motivating and inspiring. In addition, reading – even if it has nothing to do with business – can fuel creativity and build mental agility.

Join (or start) a professional networking group with other business owners and professionals – surrounding yourself with other business owners can be very positive and empowering. Hearing new stories and perspectives can also be energizing. It might help you solve a problem or it could give you the resolve that your idea is the right one. The possibilities are as numerous as the people you meet!

Is there something you do stay motivated and inspired that I didn’t mention? Please share it with us. I promise – this is a no-judgement brainstorming zone!

]]>http://ninaperez.com/entrepreneurial-burnout-it-happens/feed/0Royal Wedding Colors On Trendhttp://ninaperez.com/royal-wedding-colors-on-trend/
http://ninaperez.com/royal-wedding-colors-on-trend/#respondWed, 23 May 2018 13:00:16 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=620Unless you’ve been completely off grid, you probably heard about or saw the royal wedding of Prince Harry and our very own Meghan Markle – now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The Duchess has a great sense of style. It shone through the color palette of the wedding party. Spring 2018’s dominating color trend is muted, soft, and feminine, featuring light pinks, purples, greens, yellows, and milky whites. The royal wedding photos scream “Trend”! We saw Camilla in pale pink, Meghan’s mother in soft green, and Kate in pale yellow. The Queen was in her trademark vividness (she is, […]

]]>Unless you’ve been completely off grid, you probably heard about or saw the royal wedding of Prince Harry and our very own Meghan Markle – now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The Duchess has a great sense of style. It shone through the color palette of the wedding party. Spring 2018’s dominating color trend is muted, soft, and feminine, featuring light pinks, purples, greens, yellows, and milky whites. The royal wedding photos scream “Trend”!

We saw Camilla in pale pink, Meghan’s mother in soft green, and Kate in pale yellow. The Queen was in her trademark vividness (she is, after all, the Queen) in lime green with a splash of dark purple to great effect! Many of the guests also chose to don these muted pastels including Oprah, Pippa Middleton, Serena Williams, and Priyanka Chopra. Not surprisingly, lovely floral patterns were also springing up everywhere. Speaking of flowers, I must admit… the gorgeous floral arrangements blew me away! From the stunning floral archway to the bouquets filled with Princess Diana’s favorite flowers, the mix of white flowers and a punch of greenery contributed to the overall beauty. A traditional, yet fashionable affair! What did you think?

You can see the picture above and many more on the officialInstagram account @KensingtonRoyal.

]]>http://ninaperez.com/royal-wedding-colors-on-trend/feed/0Getting to Know Your Audiencehttp://ninaperez.com/getting-to-know-your-audience/
http://ninaperez.com/getting-to-know-your-audience/#respondTue, 22 May 2018 22:17:30 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=607Every relationship needs maintenance, right? Why not develop the one you have with your audience? You customers! With constant change in lifestyles, events, society, fashion, and preferences, it’s important to keep a conversation flowing with your customers in order to ensure that you can not only understand them, but also anticipate their needs and preferences. Hopefully you’ve had the chance to read our last post on email marketing (if not, click here) where we touched on talking with your customers in-store. It’s an important way to keep up on the latest news on the lives of your customers. Knowing if […]

]]>Every relationship needs maintenance, right? Why not develop the one you have with your audience? You customers! With constant change in lifestyles, events, society, fashion, and preferences, it’s important to keep a conversation flowing with your customers in order to ensure that you can not only understand them, but also anticipate their needs and preferences.

Hopefully you’ve had the chance to read our last post on email marketing (if not, click here) where we touched on talking with your customers in-store. It’s an important way to keep up on the latest news on the lives of your customers. Knowing if they’re going on vacation, have a big event coming up, are expecting a baby, going on a special diet… this can all help you shape suggestions and modes of communication. But if you want to take a wider view and see the trends, similarities between, and the pain points of your customers, surveys are a great way to go. Nowadays, there are a lot of ways you can easily create, send out a survey, tally, and analyze data – all for free! – so there’s really no excuse to skip this valuable exercise. Go on – work those communication muscles!

A mix of demographic (hard facts such as home zip code, number of people in a household, etc) and psychographic (e.g. how much do they spend online each month, are they planning to buy car soon, do you remember the last ad you saw) questions can help you get a detailed snapshot of your customers at a point in time. Perhaps you’ll find that you have more 20-year-olds than you expected. Perhaps you’ll find that your customers are heavy social media users and you need to participate more. Or maybe you’ll find that your current M.O. is working! Either way, it’s always a smart idea to ask. A few tips for you though… 1) make it an anonymous survey so that people are comfortable being completely honest, 2) cluster questions together by category so that the customer stays in the right mind frame, and 3) whatever method you choose, make the experience as easy as possible in order to encourage as many participants as possible. The larger your sample size, the richer your feedback becomes and the more reliable your assessments will be. You may even be able to use the questions and answers as talking points in your store!

Keep in mind that questions for a B2B company such as mine will be different from your B2C companies but if you’d like to get an idea of the type of questions I’ve asked in the past or share some of your own, post it in the comment section below.

]]>http://ninaperez.com/getting-to-know-your-audience/feed/0The Art of Email Marketinghttp://ninaperez.com/the-art-of-email-marketing/
http://ninaperez.com/the-art-of-email-marketing/#respondTue, 01 May 2018 01:49:50 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=597If you didn’t get a chance to see the email marketing video in our Facebook group, Haute Hub for Brick and Mortar retailers, you’re kinda missing out. Don’t worry – it’s on the hub for you to view at your leisure. There’s a lot of great, easily actionable items for you to do in order to scale-up your marketing efforts! And conveniently enough, my special guest, Yasmin Yamat, broke them down into 3 simple sections. If you don’t already know Yasmin, she is a marketing consultant I’ve been working with for years. She’s worked for companies like Lines Ballet, Stella […]

]]>If you didn’t get a chance to see the email marketing video in our Facebook group, Haute Hub for Brick and Mortar retailers, you’re kinda missing out. Don’t worry – it’s on the hub for you to view at your leisure. There’s a lot of great, easily actionable items for you to do in order to scale-up your marketing efforts! And conveniently enough, my special guest, Yasmin Yamat, broke them down into 3 simple sections.

If you don’t already know Yasmin, she is a marketing consultant I’ve been working with for years. She’s worked for companies like Lines Ballet, Stella Artois, and Sunset Magazine. We’ve gone through the steps in these sections many times, and it never feels like a chore. Talking about audiences, colors, themes, personas have always been invigorating! So let me give you a snapshot of what’s on the video.

Yasmin talked about 1) looking inward to assess yourself and your business, 2) looking outward to assess services available to you, and then 3) how to bring them together. Breaking email marketing down into these three sections will help make the process more manageable.

The self-assessment part should happen periodically. People change – including you and your business, which is part of this self-assessment – so you should write down (yes – physically list it out!) what your customer is like in detail. Her lifestyle, family life, job, age range, aspirations, things she worries about, bloggers she follows. You get the idea. Your staff will have input as they’re talking to customers, as well. Continually talking and getting to know your customers is something big companies can’t do at the same level as a brick and mortar boutique because you are much more agile. Next, write down what you like about emails you receive and the brands that send them. What is it that gets you to a) open the email and b) do the call to action (read more, go to website, purchase). If you take advantage of the opportunities and assets you have by doing this exercise periodically, you won’t be left scrambling when the economy, technology, or tastes change. A main factor of the lesson here is not only to do the assessment, but to write it down. Yasmin made a compelling argument as to why in the video, but for this summary, be like Nike and Just Do It!

In the second part – assessing services – Yasmin graciously put pen to paper and created a list of things to consider when you’re thinking about hiring a marketing consultant. You can find that list posted in the hub, as well. The reason this is step two is because you must know yourself and your brand (via self-assessment) if you hope to build an effective relationship with the right consultant. You will have to know your own “voice”/brand identity in order to convey it not only to the consultant, but also to your customers. The companies with a firm grasp on their brand identity don’t need to worry about off-brand messages accidentally slipping out. In addition, companies with a firm grasp on their core customer are more easily able to pinpoint opportunities for customer growth… a strategy for which you may want to task your consultant.

When it comes to the actual assessment of a consultant, there are more standard issues to nail down such as the consultant’s availability, preferred contact style, industry knowledge, software skills, and pricing. Then, there are more difficult assessments to be made. For example, getting to know their aesthetic style (and if it will complement yours), their ability to bring ideas to the table, or their audience communication style. Will they convey and represent your brand well? It’s a lot of food for thought, but if you are as detailed as possible in section one, this part should move more easily.

Yasmin’s key message in this section however (and I whole-heartedly agree), was that whether or not you hire help, you MUST do email marketing yourself first and know your way around creating an email. You can do it just for a month or two until you feel comfortable with it and see how doing so affects your schedule. Maybe it’ll help you decide if you need a consultant or not. No one knows your business, goals, and audience better than you and you are your own ultimate backup. Trust me, there is nothing more comforting as knowing that you can take care of your business even if all help falls through. If someone is sick or on vacation, your email must still be created and delivered! Knowing as much as you do about your business, no one can choose the right service like you, either. We touched on Constant Contact vs. MailChimp, but the advice applies to any service you choose.

Speaking of software – you may be wondering if you should choose Constant Contact, MailChimp, or any one of many other email services. While we’ve used these two and other services, in this article we’re not recommending any one company (and there are more than just these two) because everyone’s schedules, budgets, aesthetics, tech savviness, and staffing are different. It would be impossible for us to pick one. However, Yasmin was wise to recommend taking advantage of the free introductory periods that many of these services offer to see which is the right fit for your business. You’ll be better able to assess their features as well as become comfortable with the process – all at the same time! That said, you do want to make sure that it’s easy enough for you to upload and manage your email lists and images, that the budget works for the number of emails you plan to send, and that customer service is as accessible as you expect.

Finally, putting parts one and two together requires a mix of logistics and creativity. Thinking through topics to write about, a calendar of when to send emails, and how much to write is all easier and more thorough when done with your team. They’ll be the ones helping you gather information about your customers and trends. They’ll be the ones helping you translate this information into content ideas for your emails. They are valuable resources so don’t think you have to do it alone.

Think about having a brainstorming session where you come up with at least 50 topic ideas for your emails. From that list pick the top 20-25. If you plan to send two emails a month you now have a year’s worth of content ideas! Plus you’ll be emailing about events you’re having or taking part in.

Luckily, a majority of Yasmin’s 3 steps are people oriented and demand creativity. That’s the fun part. As you know, I love technology and learning new things that will help elevate my business, so poking around new email services is fun for me. Be the trailblazing, risk-taking entrepreneur that you are and play with these services and find the right fit for your business.

If you found this post informative, comment below with your top three take-aways and let us know what steps you’ll be taking to up level your email game.

]]>http://ninaperez.com/the-art-of-email-marketing/feed/0Build It and They Will Readhttp://ninaperez.com/build-it-and-they-will-read/
http://ninaperez.com/build-it-and-they-will-read/#respondWed, 11 Apr 2018 19:06:55 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=579Having just hosted my first guest on the Haute Hub Happy Hour as part two of my email marketing arc, my thoughts went back to the previous HHHH when I talked about list building. After all, the strategies for creating great emails won’t do much without a great list to send them to! If you haven’t seen it yet, you can still check out the video on the hub. I talked about some ideas you can use in your emails, but, without doing a full transcript here, I wanted to emphasize two of the biggest points I made. First being […]

]]>Having just hosted my first guest on the Haute Hub Happy Hour as part two of my email marketing arc, my thoughts went back to the previous HHHH when I talked about list building. After all, the strategies for creating great emails won’t do much without a great list to send them to! If you haven’t seen it yet, you can still check out the video on the hub.

I talked about some ideas you can use in your emails, but, without doing a full transcript here, I wanted to emphasize two of the biggest points I made.

First being the gold mine that is the email list. Your list is the life blood of your business! You never stop growing it. It is still the number one way to build a relationship and trust with your customer. And when someone chooses to bestow their email upon you, they want to be a part of your tribe, your inner circle. I know social media has been the hotness over the past few years and I am, obviously, a vocal advocate for using it, BUT… those followers and likes are not yours to keep. If anything happens to those platforms, if you want to close your account, or if your account somehow gets corrupted, you say goodbye to all those people. Email, on the other hand, offers you something more tangible over which you have extreme control.

The second is to be creative and mix up the ways in which you ask people for their emails. Pop-up windows on your website, a discount offer, or – my favorite – offer them something of value that is unique to your business. A document, for example, similar to the one we posted last week about hiring marketing professionals – but yours might be The Perfect 5-day Wardrobe for your next trip to Paris (featuring items you carry) or The Top 3 ways to Style the Latest (fill in the blank) Trend or even exclusive access or pre-access to an event or a group. This is my favorite because you can build trust and engagement so quickly within the group.

One of the easiest ways to automate your address collecting is through your website. You have one, right? This is a must even if you don’t sell things online…yet. Your website tells customers what your brand is all about in a setting that is all under your control. Once they opt in, their email can be automatically deposited into your email marketing platform such as Constant Contact or the like. You can put a link in the bio of your Instagram account that leads to the opt-in section of your site. You can also have a Sign Up button on your business Facebook page that will lead to the same opt-in page. And then there’s the classic way to collect emails: asking customers to write it down on a physical list you’ve started in the store. It does require some pretty old technology called a pen.

Now that you have these emails what’s next? Send an email! At a minimum, email your list twice per month and max once per week. Be strategic about your content. There’s so much noise out there and you don’t want to get lost in it! Think about how you can add value and delight your customer. We have fantastic tips in the next post which is specifically about Email Marketing.

Email is still the most reliable and efficient way to consistently engage and build trust with your customer. It’s a bigger choice to open an email than to scroll past social media posts, but the attention you hold at that moment is far greater. So go ahead – create an opt-in email request on your website and think about what you can offer in return. Then just watch your visits and engagement counts climb!

]]>http://ninaperez.com/build-it-and-they-will-read/feed/0Hashtags 101 – Part 2http://ninaperez.com/hashtags-101-part-2/
http://ninaperez.com/hashtags-101-part-2/#respondWed, 04 Apr 2018 17:00:52 +0000http://ninaperez.com/?p=569Hopefully you’re more comfortable with hashtags after reading Part 1 of this blog entry. Now let’s get into more advanced work and talk about branded hashtags. Did you know that you can create your own hashtag and use it to start a conversation with your followers or to curate certain content? A simple example of this is a hashtag I created for my dog. If you search #junebugperez you will see photos of her. She doesn’t have an Instagram account so whenever I post a photo of her, I use this hashtag. Now you, the retailer, can create a custom […]

]]>Hopefully you’re more comfortable with hashtags after reading Part 1 of this blog entry. Now let’s get into more advanced work and talk about branded hashtags. Did you know that you can create your own hashtag and use it to start a conversation with your followers or to curate certain content? A simple example of this is a hashtag I created for my dog. If you search #junebugperez you will see photos of her. She doesn’t have an Instagram account so whenever I post a photo of her, I use this hashtag.

Now you, the retailer, can create a custom hashtag around some aspect of your business. Consider a custom hashtag for things like:

a store event

a lifestyle that’s relevant to your customers – for example, #LiveInLevis is a hashtag created by Levi Strauss to be used by the end users of their product. If you search that hashtag you’ll see over 200k posts by people living in their Levis. Brilliant right?

when your customers post a photo of themselves in something they bought from your store. Better yet, for when your customers are trying on outfits while in the store. Why not have a space in your store specifically for Instagram (or Facebook) photos? This is a great way to drive visibility on Instagram (See Brit+Co’s holiday house for example #bcHolidayHouse)

When you create a custom hashtag, keep it simple and memorable. If they’re too long they’re hard to read. Try aliterations. They’re useful and mentally “sticky”. Remember LiveInLevis and bcHolidayHouse? Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

Here are some ideas for hashtags you all can use:

Regional — If you have a popular landmark nearby, use its hashtag. It’s likely people will be searching for it when visiting your area and I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if your store/product/event somehow appeared in the same list of results, right? It’s not a guarantee, but it’s more likely if you use it! If your town or city has their own hashtag USE IT! e.g. #sonoma #longbeach #dtla #downtownboston #brooklynbridge #goldengatebridge

Here are some examples of results that can be found when searching for places on Instagram. Stores, restaurants, and the like (circled) all reaped the benefits of using helpful hashtags. You can, too!

Events — If there is a popular event that people travel to your town to attend, I’ll bet they have a hashtag. Use it around the time of the event so when people are getting ready to go there or while they’re there, they’ll find you when they search that event. e.g. #jazzfest #bottlerock2017 #outlandfestival

Special feature/personality — There is a great little café near my house called Wide Eyes Open Palms (find them @wideeyesopenpalms on instagram). They have outside seating and as you can probably imagine there are quite a few canine visitors. Guess what? They have a hashtag for customers to use when they take a photo of their dog at the café. Check it out: #wideeyesopenpaws You might see a certain adorable pup there And if you’re ever out this way, pop in for coffee and ricotta toast.

I’d love to hear about your new or best hashtags. Comment below and let us know how they worked out!